December is here. The stress level is high. It seems odd that for this one month out of the year, people feel obligated to be givers. Perhaps that’s why it’s so stressful. Most of us are not used to it.
Each one of you should give just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver. – 2 Corinthians 9:7 NET
Most of my life, I have had pet fish. They are not typically affectionate pets. You can’t get them to fetch a ball or come when you whistle. You can’t teach them to roll over and play dead. (Although the really expensive ones are pretty good at doing it for real.) I did have one big fish named “Jack” who learned to beg for food. But you really can’t get them to do much of anything they don’t want to do. Come to think of it, fish are really about the same thing as a wet cat.
So, given all their shortcomings, why would anyone want to keep a fish as a pet? I am not sure why anyone would, but I think I know one reason why I like to, and it doesn’t sound good. For me, keeping fish for pets is a little like playing god. Or maybe it’s a little like playing what we think of as god. We buy the aquarium, rocks, plants, filters . . . add a flourecent hood and say “let there be light.” We create a nice, self contained world, then drop in the fish, sit back, and watch what happens. I think some people’s impression of God might be very similar.
Honestly, I suppose there may be a few similarities between my fish world and the real world. There is more involved than just sitting back and watching the fish. I do care for them. But what interest I have in my fish could never really compare to what God feels for us. God is so infinitely more involved in our lives than I am with my fish. No matter how much I like my fish, I would never love them enough to even consider making myself a guppy and jumping in the tank.
Should we aspire to pass every test? What if we are not ready for the work? What if we are not up to the work’s challenge, lacking skills measured by the test, which are needed to conquer it? Would I prefer to fail the test, or the challenge for which it measures my readiness? Are there some challenges we can not afford to fail, so the prior tests must be passed before we face them?
What about God’s tests? Are they preparation for a future challenge? God knows the state of our preparedness, but do we? Must we pass the test to provide ourselves with more knowledge of the Heavenly way? Must we pass the test to prepare us for some challenge yet ahead? Given the opportunity and foresight, would any wise person choose to face the challenge without first gaining the preparation and approval of a test successfully completed?
Is it possible that whatever tests the Lord brings my way, perhaps I would do well to view them as preparation for the challenges and victories yet ahead?
Yesterday, I heard on the news about a prominent athlete who “came out” and admitted he was gay. That was good news. I am all in favor of honesty. What was bad news to me was the way it was received. So many people were so supportive, from the President of the United States on down. The reason, the media postulated, for such wide acceptance was because a large portion of the population involved in sports are young. And the vast majority of young people aged 18 to 30, believe the gay lifestyle should be accepted. That, to me, was the bad news.
Since the Bible teaches that the homosexual lifestyle is wrong, that means most young adults in our society have pretty much decided to ignore the Bible and make up their own rules of right and wrong. Our country is in trouble. I prayed to God that He would not allow evil to prosper. That He would not allow wrong doers (including me) to get away with sin. I prayed that sinners would reap the consequences of the lifestyle they sow, and that they would know the reason for the consequences. It’s a scary prayer, because it includes me. But now more than ever, I realize that reward and punishment is a good thing. That sowing and reaping is vital for the maintenance of righteousness. And that a God who loves me cannot forever allow me to live content in my sin.
There is a church that I pass on my way to work. It still has a steeple. Not a simple modern steeple. An old fashioned, tall, spire-with-a-bell-tower steeple. It has a cross at the very top. I don’t know if I would agree with the church’s doctrine. I do know that outward appearances can’t always be trusted. However, in this day when churches are trying so hard to blend in and be a modern, progressive, relevant part of the community, I kinda miss the steeples.
The message of the cross must be both at the foundation AND the forefront of a church. So, while most churches are busy trying to fit in with the rest of the world, I am blessed by one that still spent the time and energy to build a tall steeple. In an old fashioned way, It proudly proclaims “I am a church.” And with the cross at the very top, I see a visual reminder of what really is the most relevant and important part of a community.
I have a cold. No major illness. No major trial. Just the minor inconvenience of a headache and a nasal system full of snot. None the less, I will be glad when it’s over and the sickness is a memory.
Colds do slow me down, but I try not to let them get me down. It’s a pain to have to deal with the headaches and snot. However, I realize it is only temporary. Colds are not typically life threatening, so in a few days, this one will just be a memory. But today, there is a battle raging inside my body.
While I write this, white blood cells are attacking the invading virus, determined to subdue it. In the end, the invading virus will be conquered. My body’s defenses will win, and I will feel better. In the meantime, this got me thinking about why God made the body “almost” perfect. His design allows my body to fight the germs, but why didn’t He design it so the germs never even have a chance? Why didn’t He make it so my defenses were so good that I would never even get sick in the first place?
One possibility: Because I was sick from the day I was born. This earthly body is not perfect. The disease of sin means certain death to this earthly body. A cold reminds me of that. Any trial, any sickness, any disease, any death of this earthly body is just a reminder that sin has to go. It also helps me realize that eternal life in this corrupt body would be a curse.
A God who would leave me to live forever in a sickened corrupted state would not be a loving God. Therefore, our Heavenly Father has provided a solution. Christ is the cure. He is a living example of the truth that the body must die so the spirit can live. Perhaps eons from now, looking back from the perspective of eternity, I may turn to one of my Christian friends and say, “Remember that time when we were all sick? Aren’t you glad we got over that?”
So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors–not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
– Romans 8:8-14 NKJV
The recent violence in this country, acts of pure evil carried out by what could only be godless, devil possessed pawns, is enough to bring many to despair, and all to unanswered questions. Shooting innocent children in school. Spraying bullets in a movie theatre. Gunning down random people in the street. Most everyone is saying something must be done to stop the violence. I would agree.
That said, I can’t help but believe there is something wrong with a culture that would look at the violence and blame the piece of metal that sprays the bullets, all the while flocking to the number one movie at the box office last week: The latest chapter of “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.”
In preparing for a trip to Haiti, I have been thinking about the theme of “Crime and Punishment.” More specifically, this morning I was thinking about what is often a precursor to the crime: temptation. The particular bit of scripture I was pondering was in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. “Lead us not into temptation,” he said. I have often wondered why we would need to ask God not to lead us into temptation. Why would God ever want me to be tempted? This morning, I think I got an answer. Perhaps this is something obvious to others. I’m just now learning it. I could be wrong. If you read on, maybe you’ll be tempted to tell me so. 😉 Continue reading »
Sometimes in life, people play games that we, as Christians, ought not to play. We may take the better choice and stand aside while others vie for the title of champion of something not worth winning. We may choose not to play the game, but that does not mean we can always avoid being involved. In a game of tug-0-war, we may refuse to join a side and pull. Unfortunately, that often means we get used as the rope.
There is a crooked tree in our backyard. It’s my fault. When it was very young, I transplanted it from where it ought not be, to a place where it could grow nice and tall. Then a year or two later, in an overzealous effort to free it from an evil clingy kudzu vine, I broke the top out of it, leaving it damaged. I should have been more gentle in my attempt to free it from the vine’s choking clutches. Instead, I let my temper flair. I was mad at the kudzu and determined to free the tree my way.
That was several years ago when the tree was a baby and just starting to grow. The tree is older now. Its thickening trunk and limbs are strong and free of kudzu. Even if the kudzu were to start an invasion, the tree would be able to withstand determined attempts to yank it from the branches. But it still bares the scar of the day when it was young, just starting to grow, with tender branches reaching for the heavens. In my haste and anger, I played the part of the zealot. I will always see the result in the crooked tree, and regret it. Perhaps I have a little kudzu of my own to deal with.
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
– Galations 6:1 NKJV